Eighteen dhatus

Eighteen dhatus (Skt. aṣṭadaśa dhātu; Wyl. khams bco brgyad) — a classification of all knowable things and events into eighteen 'elements'.

One categorization is:

• the six sense objects (Skt. viṣayadhātu; Wyl. dmigs yul gyi khams) of visible forms, sounds, smells, tastes, textures or tangible objects and mental objects (Skt. dharma)
• the six sense faculties (Skt. indriyadhdhātu; Wyl. dbang po'i khams): the eye faculty, the ear faculty, the nose faculty, the tongue faculty, the body faculty and the mental faculty
• the six sense consciousnesses (Skt. vijñanadhātu; Wyl. rnam shes kyi khams)

According to Abhidharma, the eighteen dhatus are categorized differently, i.e. in relation to the five skandhas.

Alternative Translations

• eighteen elements
• eighteen psychophysical bases (Dorje & Kapstein)